The Ultimate New England Skillet Hack: 20-Minute American Chop Suey That Rescues Busy Weeknights
With this recipe, you will unlock the nostalgia of comforting, one-pot ground beef and macaroni delicacy.
If you've got twenty minutes and zero energy for a massive sink full of dishes, this skillet dinner is about to save your night. It turns basic ground beef, elbow macaroni, and a jar of tomato sauce into a wildly comforting, vintage diner-style feast that easily feeds a whole crowd. Honestly, it’s the ultimate lazy weeknight weapon—you just toss everything into one pan, let it bubble, and dinner is served.
Ingredients (for 5 portions): 250 g of hard pasta, 500 g of crushed tomatoes, 400 g of ground beef, 50 g of tomato paste, 1 onion, 1 bell pepper, 1 stalk of celery, spices to taste, 100 g of butter.
Optional: cheese and jalapeño (for serving), Worcestershire sauce (for the ground beef), meat broth (for boiling the pasta).
Boil the pasta.
Melt the butter and fry the onion, bell pepper, and celery with the tomato paste. Then add the crushed tomatoes and simmer over direct medium heat (160–180°C) for 15 minutes.
Move the reduced sauce to indirect heat, and place the ground meat with spices on the coals and cook for 10–15 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated.
Mix the ground meat and pasta with the sauce, add some wood chips, and cook for another 10 minutes over direct medium heat, covered. If you like, you can add jalapeños and cheese at this stage.
